On-Camera Audition Coaching

Actor
Camera
Craft

with Gary Perez

30+ years on Broadway, television, and film. Now channeled into one thing: making your on-camera auditions impossible to ignore.

Book a Session About the Class

"Gary is a kick ass, committed, focused, caring, experienced, and savvy teacher who knows what he's talking about and communicates it with precision — in a simple, understandable manner." — Stephen Adly Guirgis
Pulitzer Prize-winning Playwright & Actor

The Method

Not your typical acting class

Actor Camera Craft is a specialized on-camera audition intensive for working actors who want to book more roles. This is not theory. It is hands-on, diagnostic, frame-by-frame work.

Gary speaks Actor. No fluff, no ego — just straight-to-the-point feedback that gets to the heart of your performance challenges, fast.

See How It Works →

The Intensive

How the Class Works

Prepare

Receive sides and submit your best self-tape before the deadline. The aim is simple: book the role. Your best effort is the only prerequisite.

Dissect

We review each self-tape as a group — honing your technique, identifying what works, and diagnosing what doesn't. No polite feedback. Real feedback.

Elevate

Moment-by-moment playback. You see yourself through the camera. You understand your instrument. You leave with tools you'll use on every audition for the rest of your career.

Your Takeaways

Master control of your instrument for the camera

Excel in storytelling and self-direction

Understand scene and frame dynamics in the close-up

Create compelling opening moments that win the room

Master eye contact, stillness, and the power of restraint

Optimize your home setup for self-tapes and Zoom auditions

Why Actor Camera Craft

Taught by a working actor.
For working actors.

Gary isn't a coach who stepped back from the industry. He's in the trenches — auditioning, performing, and coaching simultaneously. What he teaches is what he uses.

"An actor would never play a 1,500-seat house the same way they'd play a 99-seat black box."

The camera is the smallest stage you'll ever perform on — and the most unforgiving. This class teaches you to own it.

Work With Gary

What Sets This Apart

Diagnostic approach — structure that creates freedom, not restriction
Zero scene partners required — just you and the camera
Immediate, actionable feedback in every session
Universally applicable — film, TV, stage, and beyond
Understand how to tailor your instrument to the close-up
Find the joy in the audition process — and make every one count
Private 1-on-1 coaching also available for focused individual work

Gary Perez · New York

Gary Perez

Harlem to Broadway
and Beyond

Born in the high-rises of Harlem's Lincoln Projects, Gary Perez found the stage young — first through a specialized program for artistically gifted children in the Bronx, then at the High School of Performing Arts (the "Fame" school), where he majored in Ballet.

A decision to skip class and catch a Broadway matinée of Equus starring Leonard Nimoy changed everything. The live theater experience was transformative, and Gary knew he had found his life's work.

Today, Gary is an award-winning actor celebrated across television, film, and stage. He is the co-founder of Latino Actors Base — now LAByrinth Theater Company — established in 1992 alongside John Ortiz and a company of artists that grew to include Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Rockwell, Liza Colón-Zayas, David Zayas, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Paul Calderon — one of the most important theater companies in New York.

On Broadway, Gary's career spans collaborations with Pulitzer Prize-winning writers including John Patrick Shanley, Nilo Cruz, Lynn Nottage, and Stephen Adly Guirgis, directed by Anna D. Shapiro, Tony Taccone, and Jo Bonny. He earned the David Hogue Award and a Jeff Award nomination for his role as Cousin Julio in The Motherfucker with the Hat at Steppenwolf. His Broadway credits include Between Riverside and Crazy at the Helen Hayes Theater, sharing the stage with Stephen McKinley Henderson and Common.

On screen, Gary's recurring television credits include Law & Order (recurring as a Judge), The Night Agent, Criminal Minds, Fatal Attraction (Paramount+), The Blacklist, 13 Reasons Why, and Ava DuVernay's When They See Us. In film, his work spans Side Streets, Illegal Tender, Chapter & Verse, and Life After You, which earned him a Best Actor nomination at the Madrid International Film Festival.

He is also an emerging playwright. His debut play And Now I Wake achieved Semifinalist status at the 2026 Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference — out of over 2,000 submissions — and was accepted into LAByrinth's Barn Series at 59E59 Theaters. He has three additional works in development: the full-length plays STUPID and Vivisections of De La Caza, and the short play LEVITICUS.

Stage

Broadway · Steppenwolf · Yale Rep · The Public Theater · LAByrinth Theater

Television

Law & Order (Judge) · The Night Agent · Criminal Minds · Fatal Attraction · The Blacklist · 13 Reasons Why · When They See Us

Awards

David Hogue Award · Jeff Award Nomination · Madrid IFF Best Actor Nomination

Playwriting

O'Neill NPC Semifinalist 2026 · LAByrinth Barn Series · 59E59 Theaters
And Now I Wake · STUPID · Vivisections of De La Caza · LEVITICUS

Demo Reel

IMDb Wikipedia Instagram Facebook

Results

What Actors Say

These are working actors. Series regulars, Broadway veterans, Juilliard and Yale graduates. Here's what they say about the work.

Before working with Gary, my auditions were always inconsistent. Once I began to understand and put into practice the tools and empowerment he offers actors, my work has gone way beyond the audition room. I now know how to craft and execute solid performances not only for auditions but when I'm on the job!

Victor Rasuk

Reasonable Doubt · The Baker and the Beauty (Series Lead) · Fifty Shades of Grey (Lead) · Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan · Godzilla

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GAME CHANGER — that's the first thing I tell people about Gary's class. It truly transformed my confidence in auditions and on set. His process allows you to be a master technician while maintaining your inner actor and artist. He keeps it simple yet profound.

Jules Wilcox

The L Word: Generation Q · FBI: Most Wanted · Dirty John · Winner, Best Actress, Mammoth Film Festival · MFA Theatre UCLA

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Gary's class was such an amazing investment in my career. He is able to break down his audition techniques so simply, and his ability to pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses on screen is amazing. Since working with Gary, I booked roles in two films and a few guest stars, and just wrapped a pilot for Fox.

Stephanie Beatriz

In The Heights · Encanto · Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Series Regular)

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Even after years of working and auditioning, Gary's on-camera class elevated my standards for my own work. He shows you the power in stillness, in making specific choices on every beat, and how to craft a very interesting audition.

Mozhan Marnò

Fleishman is in Trouble · The Blacklist (Series Regular) · The Affair · Yale School of Drama

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All I can say is — I'm bookin'! Honestly, I don't know how I booked anything before. I am more calm, more cool, and definitely more confident when I go into the audition room.

Deidrie Henry

The Handmaid's Tale · FBI: International · The Rookie · Game of Silence (Series Regular)

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Gary runs a solid, enormously beneficial class. He uses his years of experience on TV and film to add polish and professionalism to your auditions. For me, it was a pleasure to have a coach who understands Latinos on TV and acting. A truly empowering class.

Gabriel Sloyer

Griselda (Series Regular) · Inventing Anna · The Equalizer · Narcos · Yale School of Drama

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Gary Perez is truly a GAME CHANGER. He arms his students with a whole new set of tools for on-camera auditioning that bring the work to an entirely new level. His emphasis on properly structuring the scene frees the artist to bring their A-GAME every single time.

Julie Lauren

Hit and Run · Chicago Justice · Limitless · Law & Order SVU · The Good Wife

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Despite my Juilliard training, I felt ill-prepared for the on-camera audition. Gary's class showed me how to approach audition sides, use the camera to my advantage, and how to take control of my on-camera audition. I highly recommend it for any working actor who wants to keep sharpening their skills.

Jo-Mei

Crashing · Bones · The Good Wife · Juilliard School of Drama

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Gary helped me go from dreading the feeling after an on-camera audition to looking forward to it, knowing I can prepare something solid. It's great to have an actor who can back up what he's talking about by showing the class right then and there.

Bryce Pinkham

Mercy Street (Series Regular) · The Get Down · Ghost — Broadway · Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson — Broadway · Yale School of Drama

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I have been a working actor for over 20 years and Gary Perez has helped me re-invent the way I work. I now have the passion and love for the camera and for working in television and film that I reserved for the stage. He produces solid results.

Eileen Galindo

Why Women Kill · This Is Us · NCIS · Recovery Road · Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

View on IMDb →

Work With Gary

Ready to book more roles?

Two ways to work with Gary — the intensive class for group learning, or private one-on-one coaching for focused individual work.

The Intensive

Four-session group class. Self-tape review, playback analysis, and real-time feedback in a focused cohort.

1-on-1 Coaching

Private sessions tailored to your specific challenges, material, and goals. Fully personalized.

Get in Touch

The Book

Actor Camera Craft:
The Art & Dynamics of Auditions

After thirty years on Broadway, television, and film — and hundreds of actors coached through the on-camera audition process — Gary Perez has written the manual he wished had existed when he started.

Actor Camera Craft: The Art & Dynamics of Auditions is a practical, camera-specific guide to auditioning. Not theory. Not inspiration. The actual tools working actors use to book roles — closing night energy, opening moments, structure, eye-lines, self-tape setup, and the mindset that separates professionals from candidates.

Anticipated release: 2026. Join the list to be notified on launch day.

Get in Touch

Let's talk about
your next step.

Whether you're interested in the group intensive, private one-on-one coaching, or just have questions about the class — reach out. Gary responds personally.

EmailGary@actorcameracraft.com

BasedNew York City

RemoteCoaching available via Zoom worldwide